Chelsea Therapeutics' Northera (droxidopa) demonstrated improvement in reducing symptoms in patients with neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (OH) compared to placebo.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Droxidopa is a synthetic catecholamine that is directly converted to norepinephrine (NE) via decarboxylation, resulting in increased levels of NE in the nervous system, both centrally and peripherally.
The double-blind multi-center randomized placebo-controlled parallel-group induction-design Study 301 enrolled 263 patients with symptomatic Neurogenic OH to assess effect on symptoms and their impact on daily activities.
The mean change in Orthostatic Hypotension Questionnaire (OHQ) composite score showed a statistical improvement in patients taking droxidopa versus those taking placebo.
Principal investigator of the study Horacio Kaufmann said the overall data set showed that droxidopa demonstrated significant improvement over placebo in reducing symptoms of Neurogenic OH, including such cardinal features as dizziness, weakness and fatigue, in addition to increasing standing blood pressure.
Currently, droxidopa is under investigation for the treatment of symptomatic Neurogenic OH in patients with primary autonomic failure, dopamine beta hydroxylase deficiency and non-diabetic autonomic neuropathy.